‘Joyful’ dog needed a home after recovering from surgery. Then a family fell in love
A “joyful” dog landed back at a North Carolina animal rescue — then his luck took a turn for the better.
Wilbur the 8-year-old pup got a new home after a family couldn’t wait to call him their own, according to Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption (CARA).
“They all loved him and ended up taking him home to foster for a few days,” the Sanford-based rescue organization told McClatchy News in a March 8 email. “Everything went great and they immediately wanted to adopt him. They saw the amazing boy that we saw every day, which is a great feeling.”
Wilbur’s journey at CARA started about four years ago, when his previous owners adopted him. But late last year, the rescue in a Facebook post said the family faced medical bills and a “busy life with two small kids.”
“We asked if we could somehow raise the money for his medical needs if it would make it easier for them to still keep Wilbur, knowing that he is an older dog now that would make it harder for him to find a new home,” the rescue wrote. “At that point they stated that they had also had children since they adopted Wilbur and no longer wanted to have him in their home.”
After Wilbur was surrendered, the rescue said he got a long-awaited surgery to remove a painful tumor in his back paw. The surgery caused him to lose a toe and led to a somewhat rough recovery, CARA wrote in online posts and the email.
Wilbur, eventually doing better and in need of a home, was named after the pig in the children’s book “Charlotte’s Web.” He’s described as a “darn good pup” who’s friendly and goes with the flow.
“He has such a happy and joyful spirit to him,” the rescue wrote Dec. 31 on Facebook. “Always wagging that tail, and welcoming all the human love he can soak in.”
Then on March 7, CARA took to social media to share the heartwarming news that “our favorite pig has left the pen.” Several people chimed in to congratulate Wilbur on being adopted into his new family, which includes a dog sibling.
Sanford is roughly a 40-mile drive southwest of Raleigh.
